Saria's Story
by Myriah Kamm
Summary: Rating just to be safe...This is the story of a young female Andalite who was with Elfangor when he crash landed on Earth. My first Animorphs fic. Hope you like it.
1. Chapter 1

**Saria's Story**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Animorphs or any related titles. Used a little bit from the Andalite Chronicles, Animorphs #1, #8, and some other books that I probably can't remember anymore. I don't own them, and I don't gain any profit from this story, so don't sue me please.

**Chapter 1**

My name is Saria-Semitur-Darcon, daughter of Alloran-Semitur-Corrass and Jahar-Escarn-Darrath. I am an Andalite Warrior, and the first female in the military. I have a promise to keep, a vow to fulfill, a mission to be accomplished. This is my story.

**Three Months Before...**

_"The killing blow must be graceful as it is fast!"_

I stood facing Sofor, an old Warrior and my trainer when it came to tail-fighting. I stood light and easy on my four hooves, thinking about where my weight was centered, and whether the tilt of my upper body signaled when I was going to strike, and whether the grass under my hooves was uneven, and whether my hands were out of the way, and whether the power behind my strike would be equal to that of the male's, and about a million other things a warrior should know for tail-fighting. Of course, it took little conscious thought. I had been training hard for a month now, and much of this came naturally.

Sofor was a full warrior, while I was just a lowly _aristh_—a warrior-cadet. The first female, to be exact. If this had been an actual battle, Sofor would have had the advantage of experience and power. He could have sliced me up twenty different ways in less than a second.

Maybe. Females were faster than males, due to our smaller build. I often found my instructors surprised at many of my feats, since I was the first female they had trained. And I calculated that if my life depended on it, I could win against any opponent.

In any case, Sofor was not my enemy—he was my teacher.

_"Watch my eyes, not my tail,"_ he said, although I didn't need to be reminded.

I watched his main eyes, ignoring the large scar running just beneath his left eye. I focused all my thoughts down to nothingness, as I had been taught.

Suddenly...FWAPPP!

I fired the muscles in my tail. The bladed tip cracked the air. It moved so fast, barely visible, arching over my head toward Sofor.

Then...SWOOP! FWAPP! FWAPP! FWAPP! FWAPP!

He blocked my tail blade with his tail, turned it aside, and struck with his own. But I was faster. I easily side-stepped his attack and delivered three lightning blows of my own; one to each side of his head, and a third that left my razor-sharp tail blade pressed right up against his throat. I stopped each of the blows just a hair from cutting his skin. If I had so much as twitched, I could have removed his head from his shoulders.

_"Well done, Aristh Saria."_ As Prince Elfangor made his way over, I pulled my tail away from Sofor's throat and stood at attention_. "Very nice work. You're becoming quite the tail fighter. I'm impressed."_

_"Thank you, Prince Elfangor."_ Even as I spoke, I stood at attention, stalk eyes scanning the large grassy dome, tail poised, unmoving.

_"She's one of the best arisths I've ever trained,"_ Sofor said with a smile in his stalk eyes.

_"And with good reason,"_ the prince added, his gentle main eyes settling on me. _"Could you come with me, Aristh Saria?"_

_"Of course, my prince."_ I fell into a slow trot beside him as we headed for his private quarters.

_"You are the most amazing young fighter I have ever seen,"_ he told me as we reached his quarters. He beckoned me inside, and I quickly complied, remaining at attention. _"At ease, Saria. No need for formalities in here. You may speak freely."_

I relaxed a bit, scanning the room with my stalk eyes while keeping my main eyes on Elfangor. I couldn't think of anything to say. I'd never been much of a talker, which was part of the reason I'd joined the military. There normally wasn't much talking to do. But there _was_ something I wanted to know from him.

_"Prince Elfangor...would you consider us to be shorm?"_

His main eyes blinked at me in shock. I continued.

_"What I mean is...you have told me everything. About Arbron and the Taxxon home world, about Earth and Loren and your son, about Visser Three..."_ I trailed off. I rarely talked about the Visser. War-prince Alloran-Semitur-Corrass was my biological father, although I hadn't seen him in years. He became the first and only Andalite-Controller some years back. My mother worried about him every day back home. _He_ was the reason I had worked so hard to get into the military. _He_ was the reason I pushed myself so hard in my studies and my training. I had promised my mother that I would bring him back home, no matter what it took.

_"I suppose we are shorm,"_ Elfangor replied, shaking me from my thoughts. _"Of course, that doesn't mean I favor you or anything..."_

_"Good,"_ I interrupted, sounding a bit harsher than I had hoped. _"I want to be treated as an equal. I want things to be the same as if I were male. I do not want to be treated as inferior or weak because I am female."_

For a while, he just stared at me, and I wondered if I'd overstepped my boundaries. Perhaps I'd receive a verbal reprimand or some other form of punishment.

To my surprise, his stalk eyes smiled at me as he placed a delicate hand on my shoulder. No normal Andalite would have done something like that. But I knew from the stories Prince Elfangor had told me, as well as my own studies, that it was a human gesture of comfort and support. Elfangor often acted human around me ever since he told me about his past.

_"You are a great warrior, my young friend,"_ he said quietly, raising his tail blade with a sense of pride.

I gave him a quizzical look. _"Forgive me, Prince Elfangor, but I am an aristh, not a Warrior."_

He shook his head—another human gesture. _"The Captain is proud of your success so far. He himself made you a full Warrior."_

I was speechless. One month, and already I was a Warrior? It was too good to be true. If he was telling the truth—and he had no reason _not_ to—then this was the fastest promotion in the history of the Andalite military. And what's more, I was paving the way for all females who wished to join the military.

I realized I was staring at him, and quickly shook myself back to my senses. _"I...I do not know what to say..."_

_"You don't have to say anything. It is a promotion you deserve. Because you are a great Warrior."_

_"But I have never been in an actual battle before. I have never fought a real enemy. How can you call me a Warrior?"_

"_You are, Saria. Your training has proved it. You have beaten Old Sofor with moves he has often used on arisths just like you. You think like a Warrior, fight like one...even speak like one. But as a Warrior, I must ask you a very serious question."_

It was coming. The question I had known I would be asked eventually, but I had always avoided the thought of it. I didn't know how to answer it, but now I'd have to.

_"You are the eldest child. The burden of revenge is on you. You know your father's destroyer. Do you, Saria, Warrior of the Andalite fleet, take up the burden of avenging your father?"_

My tail twitched involuntarily, and my hands started shaking slightly. But I forced myself to remain calm and complete the ritual of death. Even though my father still lived, all Andalites saw him as dead. Any Andalite would rather die than be a Controller.

_"I do, my prince," _I said quietly, forcing my thought-speak to sound firm. The ritual was complete.

I cried inside, in my hearts. Now, I had two vows to fulfill: the vow to my mother that I would return my father to her alive and well, and the vow to my prince that I would avenge my father's destruction. I found myself torn between what I wanted to do and what it was my duty to do.

But I knew I would have to make a decision soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Later that day, I was feeding in the large dome of the Dome ship alone. The other Warriors and the princes were all busy with training or jobs the Captain had assigned them or something else. Some were probably in their quarters resting and what not. I almost preferred it alone, away from the accusing eyes and the taunting and the jokes…

I was mocked for being a female, yes, but there was an implicit reason that no one cared to mention. I was held in some form of contempt because of who my father was. It seemed that my instructors, Prince Elfangor, and Captain Nerefir were the only ones who treated me with respect.

Oh, and the only remaining _aristh_ aboard our Dome Ship, the _GalaxyTree_—Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, Prince Elfangor's younger brother. He and I were quite close, I suppose. He was young, proud, energetic…although I must say, he needed some work when it came to his reputation. But still, I had this feeling for him…

I don't know what to call it. Honor, respect…perhaps even affection. But I would never tell him face-to-face. He was the brother of one of the greatest princes in the Andalite military, and also my close friend. Besides, females were not supposed to talk that way about males. If a male was attracted to a female, he would voice his feelings. But females should never speak about such things to males.

I ran at a slow canter around the dome, grazing as I did so. It reminded me somewhat of home, but I refused to think about it. I wanted only to run and forget about my father, forget about my mission. It was quite a heavy burden, the burden of revenge. Especially for a female…

_"Hello, Warrior Saria."_ I stopped when I heard Aximili's thought-speak voice and turned both stalk eyes to look at him.

_"So, you heard, did you?"_ My stalk eyes smiled at him as I turned to face him. "_Do not expect me to call you 'Aristh Aximili' now."_

His eyes smiled back. "_Of course not. We're still friends, right? I mean, this isn't going to change anything, is it?"_

I gave his tail a playful tap with my own. "_What do you think?"_

I took off at a gallop, and he fell into stride with me. We stopped at the stream and I dipped a forehoof in to drink. Aximili looked up to the roof of the dome, out into the blank whiteness of Zero-space.

_"We'll reach Earth soon, won't we?"_

I nodded, following his gaze. "_Yes…and we will battle the Yeerks there. I just hope the creatures of the planet do not get involved any more than they need to…"_

_"Elfangor believes much of the population will have been infested already."_

I turned to look at him with my main eyes, blinking in shock. _"He does?"_

Now it was Aximili's turn to nod. "_He seemed considerably distressed about it."_

We both stood there for a moment, staring into the void of Z-space. Only when Elfangor called to us in thought-speak did we move.

_"Warrior Saria, Aristh Aximili, please come to the bridge."_

I ran over toward the space in the dome that opened into the hallway that led to the battle bridge. I turned a stalk eye to look back at Aximili, who was looking after me, eyes wide.

_"What are you waiting for?"_ I asked with an excited tone. _"Come on! We are going to get back to normal space soon!"_

He shook himself from his trance and galloped after me, still shocked. We ran quickly to the bridge, taking places on either side of Prince Elfangor.

_"Prepare for return to normal space,"_ Captain Nerefir said.

We came out of Zero-space back into normal space. Through the monitors, I saw nothing but blackness dotted with stars. And there, just ahead of us, no more than a half-million miles away, was a small, mostly blue planet.

_"Is that Earth?"_ I heard Aximili ask Elfangor. _"I didn't realize there was so much water. Can you get Old Hoof and Tail to let me go down to the planet with you?"_

_"Aximili, shut up!"_ Elfangor said quickly, casting a dubious glance at Captain Nerefir. He must have worried that War-Prince Nerefir might have overheard.

His fears were shortly confirmed. _"Old Hoof and Tail, eh? Is that what they call me?"_

Elfangor shot Aximili a poisonous look. _"I'm sure this aristh didn't mean any disrespect."_

Slowly Nerefir turned his two main eyes toward Aximili. _"Ah, it's the ruffian. The wild brat who knocked me over."_ He nodded. _"Old Hoof and Tail, is it? Well. I kind of like the name."_ He slowly winked one eye at Elfangor. _"I suppose we'll have to let the ruffian live."_

Suddenly…

_"Yeerks! We have a Yeerk mother ship in orbit over the planet!"_ the warrior at the sensor station cried.

_"They're launching fighters! I count twelve Yeerk Bug fighters,"_ I announced, stepping up to my new battle station. _"They're on an intercept course. They're be in firing range within twelve Earth minutes."_

Through my stalk eyes I watched as Captain Nerefir turned his face and his main eyes toward Elfangor, while his stalk eyes kept watch on the monitors. The humor was gone from his face. _"Prince Elfangor? It is time. Launch all fighters."_

But Elfangor hadn't waited for orders. He was already halfway out the door. _"Warrior Saria, come with me, please."_

I bolted after him, Aximili close on my tail.

_"Get to the dome, Aximili,"_ his brother instructed.

_"But I want to fight! I can fly a fighter as well as--"_

_"Do not argue with me, Aximili. Arisths do not go into battle. You are not a full warrior yet. Go to the dome. You will be safer there."_

_"I don't want to be safe."_

I remained focused on the coming battle, my first. I listened intently to the thought-speak announcements coming from the bridge.

_"Yeerk Bug fighters closing fast."_

_"We are entering the outer-gravitational field of the planet."_

The three of us came to a pair of drop shafts. Warriors were zooming down, heading for the fighter bays. Aximili would have to go up to reach the dome.

Elfangor hesitated for just a moment before rushing on and arched his tail forward. Aximili reached forward with his own tail, arching it up over his back. They touched tail blades.

_"You'll have your chance to fight, Aximili,"_ Elfangor said. _"Very soon your fighter will fly side by side with mine. But not in this battle."_

_"Yes, my prince,"_ he replied, sounding very stiff and formal. As Elfangor turned to enter the drop shaft, the younger male looked sad. _"Hey, Elfangor? Go burn some slugs."_

_"That's the plan, little brother,"_ he said with a laugh. _"That is the plan."_ He then entered the drop shaft.

I should have gone right after him, but I waited for a moment, staring at Aximili with my main eyes.

_"Aximili…"_

_"Be careful, Saria,"_ he said quietly, reaching his tail blade forward as he had done with Elfangor. I reached my own forward, our tail blades touching, and smiled sadly at him through my stalk eyes.

_"Be strong, young Aximili. No matter what happens out there today, I want you to know that we will see each other again. Even if I do not return, I know our paths will cross once more."_

_"What…what are you saying?"_

I closed my main eyes and looked away with my stalk eyes. _"I thought I saw something on the sensors…"_

_"What? What did you see?" _

_"Warrior Saria, report at once."_ Elfangor's thought-speak voice was firm. I opened my eyes to look at Aximili.

_"Farewell, Aximili. And remember, be strong."_

I stepped into the drop shaft and headed for Prince Elfangor's fighter. He was waiting for me and hurried me inside. Then, we left the _GalaxyTree_ for the last time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_"Be ready,"_ Prince Elfangor instructed, taking his place in the small fighter. _"I will need you to be ready to fire immediately."_

_"I am ready, my prince."_ I felt this nagging feeling, like this would be a losing battle for us Andalites. But, no, that was impossible. We were ready for the Pool Ship and any Bug fighters the Yeerks would have there.

Out into the battle! Our fighter lanced through space toward a group of Bug fighters.

TSSEEEEWWWW!

Dracon beam fire! Elfangor dodged easily in a simple evasive manuever.

TTTSSSSAAAAPPP!

I fired! The green beam hit the Bug fighter's engines. Together, Prince Elfangor and I disabled Bug fighter after Bug fighter, my spirits rising higher and higher with each one. We were going to win! There was no way the Yeerks could defeat us!

That's when I felt it. A tremor that rolled through my mind...a wave of coldness... a premonition. It was like being in a waking nightmare. Even before I turned my stalk eyes to the screen, I knew what I would see. It appeared like a shadow against the gray-white light of the single moon, shaped like some twisted battle-ax. The Blade ship of a Visser.

I watched, my hearts sinking, as the dome was separated from the Dome ship and fell toward the deep blue on the planet below. The rest of the ship tried to turn to meet the Blade ship, but the Yeerk vessel was faster. The Blade ship fired, three times, and in an explosion of light, the rest of the _GalaxyTree_ was gone.

_"Prince Elfangor...!"_

_"I know, Saria...I know...Aximili..."_

TSSSSEEEEEEWWWW!

My thoughts had strayed from the present battle for too long! The Dracon beam hit our small fighter, damaging it substatially. I turned one stalk eye to my prince for orders.

_"This battle is over,"_ he said quietly, his eyes full of sadness. _"Right now, we have a mission. I am taking us down to the planet."_

TSSEEEEWWW!

As the beam hit, the fighter rocked, knocking me off my feet, and an explosion of sparks burned both Elfangor and me severely. My prince had a long burn that covered half of his right side, while my left foreleg was broken and my right sprained. Both of us climbed to our feet and Elfangor continued our decent to the planet. He did not have to tell me what we were going to do; I could guess. He was planning to go back to find the Time Matrix.

Our fighter decended over a flat area of what appeared to be a concrete foundation with half-finished walls around the perimeter. Elfangor landed carefully, then stumbled from his injuries. I staggered over to him as quickly as I could and slowly helped him to his feet.

_"We are both too weak, my prince. There is no way we will be able to find the Time Matrix in this condition."_

His stalk eyes turned to me in surprise, but he nodded. _"You are correct, Saria."_

My ears perked up when I heard noises from outside the ship. "It's safe. We won't hurt you."

I turned my stalk eyes toward the hatch, keeping my main eyes on Elfangor as I steadied him against me for support. _"Humans?"_

He nodded.

"Please, come out. We won't hurt you."

_"I know,"_ Prince Elfangor replied. He looked at me and spoke in private thought-speak. _"They will be frightened. But...they may be able to help...or perhaps we can help them."_

I nodded, shifting all my weight off my broken leg.

Then, I heard the gentle human voice again. "Can you come out?"

_"Yes. Do not be frightened."_

"We won't be frightened."

I helped Prince Elfangor over to the hatch, and he pushed himself off of me gently, standing on his own. He opened the hatch, and we looked at a small group of five human youths.

"Hello," said the human who had been the one communicating with us. He was a young male with brown hair and just two gentle brown eyes. They all stood only two legs and had two strong arms. There were three males and two females in all. I could see the fear in their eyes, but they were not so scared that they ran away.

_"Hello,"_ Prince Elfangor and I both said.

"Hi," the remaining four greeted. They were all grinning now, an expression made by turning up the corners of their mouths. I could also see, although it was dark, tears filling the eyes of the other brown-haired male.

_"He feels it, too,"_ I told myself, smiling with my stalk eyes. _"He feels the connection."_

Suddenly, Prince Elfangor staggered, falling out of the ship and to the ground. The male who had spoken tried to grab him and hold him up, but he slipped from his strong alien hands and fell back to the dirt. I limped over to my prince's side and knelt next to him, holding his hand as he had done for me once before when I had been injured in training. It is a human sign of support, I think. Whatever it meant, I could tell it made him feel better.

"Look!" the darker-skinned human female cried. She pointed to the burn on Elfangor's right side. "He's hurt."

_"Yes. I am dying."_

The human male with longer black hair spoke now. "Can we help you? We can call an ambulance or something."

"We can bandage that wound," the female said. "Jake, give me your shirt. We can tear it up and make bandages."

_"No. I will die. The wound is fatal."_

"NO!" the one the female had called Jake cried. "You can't die! You're the first aliens ever to come to Earth. You can't die."

_"We are not the first,"_ I said quietly. _"There are many, many others."_

"Other aliens? Like you?" It was the male who had spoken first.

Elfangor slowly shook his head. _"Not like us."_ He stopped as he cried out in pain, echoing terribly inside my mind. I felt him dying. My stalk eyes swiveled to the humans, and I could tell that they felt it, too.

_"Not like us,"_ I finished for him. _"They are different."_

"Different?" Jake asked. "How?"

Elfangor turned all four of his eyes on them. _"They have come to destroy you."_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Prince Elfangor and I explained to the humans about the Yeerks, giving them all the information we could in the little time he had left. I felt for him. His wounds would kill him, while I had suffered minor wounds. There would be nothing I could do to save my prince from certain death.

The humans were having a hard time accepting the fact that Elfangor was dying. They wanted to save him, no matter what it took. But both he and I knew it was futile. Even if they could save him...Visser Three would eventually track us down and destroy us.

Then, Prince Elfangor did something I never expected him to do. He sent the second brown-haired human into our fighter to retrieve the _Escafil_ device...and gave these five human children the morphing technology.

I felt that cold, sick feeling again, and looked up to the sky with my main eyes. Even though I couldn't see it, I knew...the Blade ship was up there.

_"Visser Three!"_ Prince Elfangor cried. I _"He comes!"_

"What?" the human who had gone into our ship, who appeared to be the leader of this small group, asked. His voice was shaking. "What's a Visser? Who's a Visser?"

_"Go now. Run! Visser Three is here. He is the most deadly of your enemies. Of all Yeerks he alone has the power to morph. The same power you now have. Run!"_

"No, we'll stay with you," the light-haired female said firmly. "Maybe we can help.

Elfangor smiled again at him with his eyes. _"No. You must save yourselves. Save yourselves and save your planet! The Yeerks are here."_

The humans looked up, craning their necks. Two red lights from the Bug fighters were sinking toward us. And they had been joined by the Blade ship.

"But how are we supposed to fight these...these Controllers?" the female demanded.

_"You must find a way. Now run!"_

The leader of the five humans jerked. "He's right. Run!"

Four of the young humans ran, as Prince Elfangor has instructed. The one who had spoken to us first, called Tobias, remained with us for a few more minutes. He knelt next to us, gently taking Elfangor's hand in one of his own strong human hands.

_"Your mother..."_ Elfangor said quietly, focusing all four eyes on the young human. _"Tell me about your mother, Tobias. Your family."_

I was nearly as surprised as the human child when my prince made this request, but I instantly knew why he had made it. Everything was beginning to make sense. This human child was...he must have been Elfangor's son!

I had little to no experience reading human facial expressions, but I could tell Tobias was troubled.

"She...disappeared. When I was just little. I don't know what happened. I guess she died. People say she just left because she was messed up. They said she never got over my father. I don't know. But I know she has to be dead because she'd never have just left me. No matter what. But maybe that's just what I told myself. I don't exactly have a family."

At that moment, I felt a great swell of compassion for this young human. I do not know what made me do it, but I hesitantly wrapped an arm around his broad shoulders. He turned him head to look at me, shocked, but smiled at me gratefully. His free hand grasped mine that was on his shoulder, and I saw what Elfangor had described to me as "tears" in his eyes.

_"Go to your friends, Tobias,"_ Prince Elfangor said quietly, touching the side of the boy's face with a smile in his eyes. _"They are your family now."_

Still, the young human hesitated. His gaze shifted from Prince Elfangor to me. I nodded slowly.

_"You should go quickly,"_ I said quietly. _"Save yourself and your friends."_

"I don't want to let you die." Tobias's voice was firm, but not quite as demanding as I would have expected. I locked all four of my eyes on his two. It was amazing. Although he didn't know that Elfangor was his father, and although he didn't know of his Andalite heritage, he felt a very strong connection to us. And he refused to let us die as long as there was something he could do to stop it.

_"Fear not, young Tobias,"_ I assured him soothingly, reaching a hand up to run my palm gently along his cheek. _"There will be others like us. More Andalites will come."_

He reached up and wrapped his fingers carefully around my own, which still rested on his cheek. "You're going to die, and I don't even know your name..."

I twisted my hand around to gently grip his. _"Saria-Semitur-Darcon, daughter of Alloran-Semitur-Corrass and Jahar-Escarn-Darrath. Warrior of the Andalite fleet."_ I bowed my head slightly, closing my main eyes and lowering my tail. I focused my stalk eyes on his eyes and spoke to him in private thought-speak. _"Go. Protect your friends. I will do everything in my power to in turn protect my prince."_

The young human's eyes shifted to my right foreleg. A chunk of metal from the small fighter was protruding from just above my hoof, blood caked around the wound. Ripping a long strip from his artificial skin, Tobias looked up to meet my main eyes.

"This might hurt a bit..."

I nodded, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes. At first, I could only hear Tobias mumbling something under his breath. Then, I felt tension on the shard of metal and, in another few seconds, intense pain. My eyes snapped open and my tail twitched involuntarily, but I stopped it half a foot from removing Tobias's head from his shoulders. I relaxed my tail, forcing myself to keep from screaming in pain.

Tobias carefully, tightly wrapped the strip of his artificial skin around the gaping wound, somehow managing to stop the bleeding. I looked down at him with all four eyes, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

_"That will do, Tobias,"_ I said quietly. _"Thank you. But now, you should go. Save yourself."_

His eyes filled with tears again, and he wrapped his broad arms around my torso in what I believe is called a hug. I was surprised, but I returned the gesture. With one of his hands, he pressed my face against his shoulder and whispered into my ear.

"Be careful...and..." He broke off, and I felt him start to shake slightly. I pulled away from him, my eyes smiling at him.

_"Go, Tobias. Your friends need you."_

He backed away from me, looked at Prince Elfangor and took his hand, giving it a slight squeeze. Elfangor nodded, smiling at him as well. Then, Tobias was up and running, stumbling over the debris of the construction site.

A beam of red light snapped on, lighting Elfangor and I up, as well as our small fighter. A spotlight from a second Bug fighter joined the first, and they slowly started to descend. The Bug fighters, slightly larger than our own fighter, touched down on either side of our ship. I climbed shakily to my feet, my main eyes on Elfangor while my stalk eyes burned into the Bug fighters warily.

_"Run, Saria."_

I jumped in surprise at his command. _"Prince Elfangor?"_

_"Run. Save yourself. I will die—that is inevitable. But you have a chance to survive. Run."_

_"I refuse to leave you, my prince."_

_"That is an_ order_, Warrior Saria._ Run_."_

Even if I had wanted to leave, at that moment I would not have been able to. My stalk eyes swung toward the sky as the Blade ship settled toward the ground. A large, mechanical Earth device disintegrated as the huge Yeerk vessel descended.

The hatch opened slowly, and then the Hork-Bajir-Controllers leaped from the ship. My main eyes remained fixed on my prince. He was concentrating, and I realized he must have been explaining what was happening to the human children.

Taxxon-Controllers poured from the ship next, their ten-foot-long bodies slithering like some sickening worm. Their rows of hundreds of teeth ringing the round mouths made my hearts beat faster. The Taxxons and Hork-Bajir spread out around the area, holding Dracon weapons tightly in their hands. I found myself praying that the humans would not be found out.

Then I felt it. I could feel his presence before he even took a step from the Blade ship. My stalk eyes swiveled to the opening in the Blade ship at the sound of hooves clanking on the metal ramp. The Hork-Bajir and Taxxon-Controllers all turned toward the ramp, alert and at attention. Then..._he_ appeared.

_"Visser Three,"_ Elfangor said quietly, for both the human children and me. I knew he was elaborating for the humans, but I couldn't hear anything anymore. I couldn't even blink, holding my breath as Visser Three walked confidently toward us.

_"Well, well,"_ the Visser said. I positioned myself in front of Elfangor, my tail raised defiantly. _"What have we here? A pair of meddling Andalites?"_ He looked more closely at our fighter. _"Ah, but no ordinary Andalite warriors. Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, if I am not mistaken. And the young Saria-Semitur-Darcon. Two living legends. How many of our fighters did you two destroy up there? Seven, or was it eight by the time the battle ended? The very last Andalites in this sector of space. Yes, I'm afraid your Dome ship was completely destroyed."_

_"There will be others,"_ Elfangor said defiantly.

Visser Three took a step closer to us. _"Yes. And when they come it will be too late. This world will be mine, our greatest conquest, and I will be Visser _One_." _

_"What do you want with these Humans?"_ Elfangor demanded. _"You have your Taxxon allies, your Hork-Bajir slaves, and other slaves from other worlds. Why these people?"_

_"Because there are so many, and they are so weak,"_ Visser Three sneered. _"Billions of bodies! And they have no idea what's happening. Our empire will grow as never before! Face it, Andalites, you have fought well and bravely. But you have lost."_

My tail whipped forward and rested against his throat. The Hork-Bajir-Controllers and Taxxon-Controllers aimed their weapons at me, but Visser Three raised a hand, telling them to relax.

_"Come now, young female,"_ he mocked me, slowly raising his own tail. _"I am a full-grown Andalite War-prince. You are nothing but a lowly Warrior. And a female, at that. You don't stand a chance against me."_

_"You know who I am, Visser,"_ I snapped, my eyes narrowing. _"You know what I am capable of."_

His eyes widened. _"Well, despite that fact, you'll still lose in a tail-fight."_

_"I am the one with the upper-hand here, Yeerk. One wrong move, and you will find yourself staring up at your host's headless body."_

_"You won't,"_ he stated matter-of-factly, but he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself, as well. _"You'd kill him, too. And I know you won't do that."_

I pressed the blade into his flesh, drawing blood. _"_Try_ me, Yeerk. Just try me."_

Suddenly, movement out of my right stalk eye. I barely managed to parry the Hork-Bajir's wrist blades with my own tail blade, kicking him away with my back legs. But I had made my mistake. Visser Three lashed out, the dull side of his blade hitting the back of my good knee. I collapsed to my knees, my tail pinned beneath me. The Hork-Bajir that had attacked me quickly ran over and pressed his wrist blade against my throat, and three more hurried over and held me down.

_"I win,"_ Visser Three mocked. His stalk eyes swiveled to Prince Elfangor, who was struggling to get to his feet. _"I promise you one thing, my dear Andalites—when we have this planet, with its rich harvest of bodies, we will move against the Andalite home world. I will personally hunt down your families. And I will personally oversee the placement of my most faithful lieutenants in their heads. I hope that they will resist, so I can hear their minds scream."_

Elfangor struck! His tail whipped up and over, nearly too fast for the eye to see. The Visser twisted his head aside, and Elfangor's tail blade missed it by a bare half-inch. But it sliced into his shoulder. Blood sprayed from the wound. The Visser howled in pain, a sound that held my father's agony in it, as well.

At the same time, a shredder beam shot from our fighter, slicing into the nearest Bug fighter. Hork-Bajir and Taxxons scattered as the Bug fighter sizzled and disappeared.

_"Fire!"_ Visser Three yelled. _"Burn the ship! Do it! NOW!"_

Red Dracon beams shot from both the Blade ship and the remaining Bug fighter, hitting our small fighter. It glowed, and then slowly disintegrated.

_"Take the Andalite,"_ the Visser ordered his soldiers, glaring at Elfangor. _"Hold him for me."_

Three big Hork-Bajir grabbed my prince and held him down, their wrist blades at his throat.

_"No!"_ I screamed, struggling against the Hork-Bajir holding me. I somehow managed to wriggle my tail free from beneath me and attacked. I slashed my Hork-Bajir captors to shreds, then scrambled to my feet and turned on the ones holding Elfangor.

_"Saria, run!"_ he said to me in private thought-speak. _"You still have a chance to escape. Go!"_

_"I will not leave you, my prince."_ I struck at the Hork-Bajir restraining him, but they were smarter than their comrades. They blocked my blade with their own, and even lashed out with their own bladed tails every now and then.

When I risked a glance at Visser Three with my stalk eyes, I realized that my frantic attack was hopeless. The Abomination was morphing, and quickly. He rose off the ground, his four legs melting into two and growing sturdier to support his rapidly increasing weight. Within mere minutes, I found myself gaping up at an Antarean Bogg morph.

A huge, muscular hand reached down toward us and ripped Prince Elfangor from the grasp of the Hork-Bajir.

_"Prince Elfangor!"_ I yelled, taking a few steps forward, wincing as my weight shifted to my injured leg. _"You monster! Put him DOWN!"_

_"Saria, stop! You must run! Save yourself while you can!"_ His plea made me hesitate, but I never took my gaze from him. All four of my eyes were fixed upward. I felt a stab of pain in my hearts. I couldn't let my prince die...

_"I must save you, my prince! A Warrior's duty is to her prince!"_

_"That is correct, Warrior Saria. Now go. Run! That is an order."_

_"But...Prince Elfangor..."_

_"Go!"_

For a few moments, I just stared up at him. _"As you have ordered, my prince,"_ I whispered, closing my main eyes. _"So I shall. Please, forgive me for doing my duty..."_

I turned and ran. The Controllers standing around me were too fixated on their leader to notice me. The Taxxons swarmed around him, hoping for a piece of meat to fall that they could devour to quiet their raging hunger. The Hork-Bajir began laughing and applauding. The Human-Controllers laughed along with them. And then, I heard the sound that will forever haunt me.

Prince Elfangor's very last cry. He cried out in agony as I heard the Visser's monstrous teeth ripping him apart. And as long as I live, my prince's cry will always be in my mind.

I galloped as fast as my hooves would carry me, going quite fast, despite the pain shooting up through my right foreleg. I ran until I was away from the square, hollow buildings and the bright lights. I ran until I found myself in an alien forest, until I couldn't run anymore. And then, I collapsed on the leaf- and needle-covered ground and faded out of consciousness.


End file.
